CHAPTER 1-LOST FOREST
1126 Words
"Hey, Jack! Hold on, don’t go there!" she shouted, running after the dog.
As if it understood her, Jack halted right at the entrance of the barrier and looked back at her; its deep dark eyes looked as if it had its own thoughts.
She got closer, stopped running and walked towards him panting; she tried to catch her breath.
"Wha... what’s wrong with you today, Jack?" Her voice wavered as she steadied herself.
But then, Jack’s ears pricked up like it heard something and without hesitation, he bolted straight into the barrier, living her no room to stop him
"Jack!!" She stood frozen in shock.
Her gaze flickered back toward the small hut in the distance. She prayed in her mother wouldn’t find out.
"Jack, you better not make Mother scold me because of you again" she mumbled, biting her lip nervously while looking at the barrier in front of her. ‘I have no choice but to go get him’ she tell herself.
Summoning all the courage in her, she stretched her hand toward the barrier. To her surprise, it passed through effortlessly. Her eyes widened, causing her iris to flicker with excitement.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped in with her eyes closed for a moment. And the second she stepped through, everything shifted.
A warm tingle skated over her skin, like stepping from cold air into sunlight. For a brief moment, the world felt weightless, silent, like nothing existed but her. Then, the feeling passed, and she opened her eyes.
Her breath hitched.
The forest she had known…. dark, tangled and ordinary was gone. In its place stretched a world so breathtaking she couldn’t move. Towering trees stood like ancient sentinels, their trunks smooth and shimmering as if carved from silver. Their leaves, a mix of deep violet and glowing gold, rustled softly in a breeze that carried no chill, only the faintest whisper of something... alive.
The ground beneath her feet pulsed with veins of blue light, as if the earth itself was breathing. Strange flowers bloomed in clusters, their petals shifting colors deep sapphire, burning ember, crystalline white like they couldn’t decide what they wanted to be. Tiny orbs of light flitted through the air, dancing between branches, their glow soft yet sharp enough to carve patterns into the darkness.
She swallowed hard. This wasn’t just another part of the woods. This was somewhere else.
Then
A bark rang out in the distance.
"Jack!" Relief crashed over her like a wave, breaking the spell of awe.
She took off, her heart hammering in her chest. Her feet barely made a sound against the glowing grass, and yet, every step felt amplified, like the ground was aware of her presence. The air buzzed not with sound, but with energy, something she couldn’t name but could feel under her skin.
She dodged between the strange trees, her breath sharp and fast. The world around her was so impossibly beautiful, but there was no time to stop and stare. Jack was up ahead.
Closer…. Closer….
She was inches away from Jack. She reached out, stretching her arms towards him when…..
Suddenly she felt a presence, ancient and powerful. It sent chills to her spine and it seemed to freeze her in place for a second.
She came to a halt and looked around the ethereal forest.
Something else was here. Waiting… And it seemed to be calling out to her.
Slowly, she walks towards the direction of what seems to be calling her, not knowing how close she was getting to the center, the surroundings became quite, even the chipping of the bird no longer sounded, it gave off an oppressive feeling.
The sight of white fur 'jack' she muttered to herself, as she got closer, not watching her steps, she noticed jack circling a huge rock that had an animal sleeping on it, the fur of the animal shines like gold making the greenerie pale in comparison.
"ahh!" a scream came from her mouth and she fell forward landing her body on the soft grass.
Her scream like an alarm woke the forest, causing it to be quieter than before.
Sitting up on the floor, she felt a sting on her ankle looking down at it, blood slipping down from it, causing her auburn eyes to suddenly moist, tears like rain droplets falling from her eyes, Jack moves closer to her, bending it head to want to lick her wound. Both of them oblivious to where they were danger loom right in front of them. Like thunder in his ears, Edgar's eyes opened. Fighting long to see the day he woke up. He wolf tells him it's from the sound of that voice. 'sob' he could hear the sobs, he looked down in the direction the sobs comes from, he sees what looks like a deer 'no a little lamb' said he's wolf.
And because of his long sleep he's eyes was still blurry but his nose perceived the scent of blood. It's faint but still there. His blood boils and knowing it's coming from the direction of the lamb he gets up staggered he moves towards the lamb.
Jack who was licking her wound begins to tremble, his fur shaking and his little body doing its best to hide behind Roses' body.
Feeling like the surroundings has gotten dark; Rose lifts her head to look at what's blocking the light only to meet with deep hazel eyes staring back at her.
Looking down at her fair petite body, Xavier felt curious as to how such a creature could exist in this world. Crying over such a small wound, his wolf rages him to eat her but after taming that small dog of hers, he finds himself wanting to see what should do first.
'Your blocking the light sir' a soft voice resonates in his ears making them twitch, waking him from his thoughts.
Seeing that he won't budge from his position Rose stands up, making her dress sway with the gentle wind. She moves her body to make her stand in front of Xavier. "I didn't see you here before, where you hiding?" Titling her head she's ask.
Her every move being watch by those deep hazel eyes with nothing to hide. See the dog pull her dress softly trying to let her him on how dangerous I am, not minding that but that small pulling action pricks me. my wolf tells me that the little pup is close to her.
Glancing away from the small pup, opening my mouth to answer her, my voice hoarse and deep "I was laying over there for a long nap" pointing at the stones then looking back at her " you woke me up".
- Writer
